Mitten



July 31, 1945.

O. C. DAIBER MI'AITEN Filed June 6, 1942 0M5 G. [DA/BER NVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented July 31, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE C. Daiber, Seattle, Wash.

MITTEN Application June 6, 1942, Serial No. 446,007

1 Claim.

tion and by conduction. In reverse, under the same conditions, when the hand is gloved so that each finger is separately covered, the fingers will get cold and stiff and be uncomfortable.

I have particularly in mind the conditions being encountered by our military and other forces in Arctic and Antarctic zones. In the clothing of troops for the field, great strides have been made to provide them with useful and warm body coverings, head coverings and foot coverings, but no satisfactory mitten or glove has been provided heretofore, which would not only give a soldier the benefits of the mitten but the usefulness of the glove, in a single covering for the hand. It is absolutely imperative in the case of rifiemen that thethumb and at least the forefinger of the hand be free under cold conditions for them to manage their rifles. When the soldier is called upon to fire his gun, he must have suflicient freedom of his hands and fingers to permit him to grip the stock of a rifle and also the trigger. There are, of course, many other circumstances where similar conditions exist and where a mitten meeting those conditions in an effective manner will be extremely useful.

Having. in mind the foregoing problems, it is an important object of my invention to provide a mitten for outdoor wear that is easily converted for use in the manner of a glove with respect to certain portions of the hand, and without requiring the wearer to uncover his hands to so do.

Another object of my invention is the pro- The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto I prefer to accomplish as follows:

According to a preferred embodiment of my invention, I attach on the palm of a mitten, in that portion against which a forefinger normally lies, a fingerstall that has an opening to the interior of the mitten and through which opening the forefinger may be inserted into the fingerstall.

Specifically, the mitten comprises a palm and finger envelope having the usual backing and thumbstall, and an auxiliary forefinger stall.

which is attached to the palm and lies closely adjacent thereto when not in use, and into which, on occasion, the forefinger of a wearer of such a garment can be readily inserted.

Means are also provided to retain the auxiliary forefinger out of the way when it is not used so as not to interfere with the use of the mitten in the customary manner, wherein all of the fingers of the hand are encased together.

The novel features that I'consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claim. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of use, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment, when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my mitten. taken looking at the top in a slightly forward position,

Figure 2 is a, side elevational view of the mitten of Figure 1, with the auxiliary finger in its extended and useful position, and

Figure 3 is a perspective view, similar to the showing of Figure 1, but with the auxiliary forefinger as it would appear in use.

A mitten, to overcome the defects hereinbefore enumerated, must have at least two totally distinct characteristics; it must be capable of readily accommodating the forefinger of the wearer, and it must also provide such auxiliary covering in the manner that will not detract from the use of the mitten per se when that is desired, nor interfere with that use. ferred embodiment of my invention, referring to the figures of the drawing, is constituted by a mitten palm wall It] which is joined by an edge seam I2 to a backing member 14 to form an envelope into which the fingers and palm of the hand may be inserted.

Standing out from one side of the palm, usually on the palm face, is the thumb stall l6. Prefer- Accordingly, a preably, I form the palm it of leather or other flexible and durable material, which should nor mally be soft and pliable under all conditions.

The backing, for purposes of economy, or for other reasons, is usually formed of a fabric mate rial of relatively light weight, since it has to resist a lesser degree of wear than does the palm. 1n the same way, the portions of the thumb which .will be subjected to the greater wear are formed with leather and the backing of fabric.

I have shown throughout the drawing that at the wrist portion 53 a flexible and resilient gather ing 20, such as may be formed by stitching with lastex thread, is placed so that the mitten will more or less tightly encircle the wrist, and keep out the cold and snow. In the preferred form of my invention, a and extension 22 is attached to the mitten to enclose the end of an arm-covering garment. This cuff extension may be gathered about the forearm by the strap 25 and then retained in adjusted position through the operation of the buckle 25.

In the palm of the hand, just forward of the thumbstall l6, I form an auxiliary fingerstall 30 which is here shown to be faced with leather and backed with fabric as previously described, and for the same reasons. This fingerstall is naturally hollow and communicates with the interior of the palm portion of the mitten. A single, unitary, continuous piece of leather is used to form the opposed walls of the auxiliary fingerstall and thumb.

In Figure 1, the auxiliary fingerstall is shown as stowed under a, retainer strap 32. In Figures 2 and 3 the fingerstall is shown as it would appear when in use.

When the mitten is worn and it is desired to insert the finger into the auxiliary fingerstall, all that the wearer need do is to cock back his forefinger so that the ball of the finger touches or approaches the point of juncture of the finger with the hand. Then the finger tip is inserted into the auxiliary stall 3d, without removing the mitten or without using the other hand. The previously stowed nngerstall may be readily with drawn from under the retainer strap and is ready to use under such conditions where a firm grip desired between. the thumb and forefinger. fin

assaess other occasions, the forefinger may be withdrawn and reinserted into the palm portion i l of the mitten as previously.

It is customary under certain conditions to furnish with such. mitmns as these, a pair of gloves, usually woolen, having the usual four nngerstalls and the thiunbstall, which glove is worn inside the mitten. Under such circumstances my auxiliary iingerstall is easily used without inconvenience of any nature. Under other circumstances, where it is thought more advisable to wear a woolen inner mitten under the mitten of my showing, it is customary to slit that inner mitten at a point where the forefinger may be easily extended therefrom for insertion into the auxiliary fhgerstall.

Since it is only occasionally and not for long periods of time that the auxiliary fingerstall is to be used, such an arrangement is entirely satisfactory, as the finger will be protected against the cold and weather a sufficient amount to avoid frostbite and discomfort.

There is a function of the retainer strap 32 and the fingerstall @539 when stowed as in Figure 1 that is not entirely obvious. Such mittens as I have shown are used often by skiers or ski troops and during use must be gripped around the handles of ski poles or the like. Strap 32 and stall 3i], lying as they do in the palm of the mitten, increase the roughness or frictional contact obtainable and prevent slippage that might otherwise occur with a smooth palm on a mitten.

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am'fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claim.

I claim:

A mitten having a continuous palm and finger wall, the finger face being continuous from side to side of the mitten, attached thereto a forefinger stall communicating at its base with the interior of the mitten through the palm thereof, the opposed walls of the forefinger stall and the thumb being formed by a unitary layer of material separate from the palm wall.

OME C. DAIBER. 

